Monday, May 22, 2017

Posts for May 22, 2017
These are the posts that are accumulated in our weekly newsletter which goes out throughout the school year. The posts are organized by the major units in our Constitutional Law (5th ed.) student textbook.

Planning for next year? Check out the National Virtual Supreme Court Competition for High School Student. The Competition offers teams of two high school students the opportunity to research cutting-edge constitutional law, write persuasive appellate briefs, argue against other students through video chats, and try to persuade a panel of esteemed attorneys during oral argument that their side is correct. This year’s competition focused on Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer
See the top finishers and their briefs:
See the process leading up to the finals:

I. Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

The decision in Cooper v. Harris can be found at:

II. Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and Balances [See TOPICS 11-15 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Texas House OKs new abortion limits despite court defeats [AP, 5/20/17]: Texas' Republican-controlled House has approved tough new limits on abortion, striking back after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted many restrictions on the procedure the state passed in 2013.

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Trump: 'I never mentioned the word or the name Israel' to Russians [CNN, 5/22/17]: President Donald Trump sought to rebut claims Monday that he damaged Israeli intelligence capabilities by revealing highly classified information to Russian operatives earlier this month.

Will the Presidency Survive This President? [NY Times, 5/20/17]: Mr. Trump's recklessness may force Congress or the courts to constrain him, diminishing the power of the office.

Trump to propose big cuts to safety-net in new budget, slashing Medicaid and opening door to other limits [Wash Post, 5/21/17]: President Trump’s first major budget proposal on Tuesday will include massive cuts to Medicaid and call for changes to anti-poverty programs that would give states new power to limit a range of benefits, people familiar with the planning said, despite growing unease in Congress about cutting the safety net. 

West Wing aides brace for big attorney bills [Politico, 5/20/17]: President Donald Trump has deep pockets to pay for personal lawyers to defend him from the evolving federal investigation into his campaign’s contacts with Russian officials. It’s a very different story for his staff. 

Donald Trump's many foreign policy flip-flops [CNN, 5/22/17]: President Trump is winning kudos for the start of his nine-day foreign trip. It's some of the first positive press coverage he's received in months. But it's also based on a series of flip-flops -- rhetorical and policy-centered -- that have greased the skids for Trump's trip to look like a success.


III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Supreme Court rules NC redistricting was unconstitutional racial gerrymandering [Wash Examiner / Law Newz / SCOTUS blog / USA Today / “Election Law” blog, 5/22/17]: The 5-3 decision in Cooper v. Harris tossed out the districts drawn by Republican officials after the 2010 census. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the court's opinion and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, who wrote a concurring opinion, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate.
The opinion in Cooper v. Harris can be found at:

U.S. Supreme Court leaves key campaign finance restriction in place [Reuters / AP, 5/22/17]: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a Republican challenge to a federal campaign finance restriction that prevents political parties from raising unlimited amounts of cash to spend on supporting candidates. The Republican Party of Louisiana had argued that a provision of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act violates free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution. But the justices let stand a lower court's ruling that rejected the Republican challenge. The brief order noted that conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch favored hearing the case.


Status Check: Where Voting Rights Cases Stand With The Supreme Court [NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday,” 5/21/17]: The high Court decided not to hear a case on North Carolina's restrictive voting law. But other cases are moving forward. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Richard Hasen, law professor at UC Irvine.

Supreme Court Upends 25 Years of Precedent on Patent-Suit Venue [CNS, 5/22/17]: A dream of Louisiana Republicans to influence federal contests with soft-money donations from state and local parties crumpled Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Democratic divisions on display as Bauman wins California party chairmanship [Politico, 5/21/17]: A caustic contest between the party establishment and “Berniecrat” activists gripped the nation’s largest Democratic party in Sacramento this weekend, underscoring fierce Democratic divisions at the state level that continue to simmer five months into Donald Trump’s presidency.

How L.A.'s school board election became the most expensive in U.S. history [LA Times, 5/21/17]: Charter school supporters and unions spent nearly $15 million to battle each other in last week's Los Angeles Board of Education races, which crossed the finish line as the most expensive school board election in U.S. history. 

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Flynn Said to Plead Fifth in Senate Inquiry [CNS / CNN, 5/22/17]: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will reportedly invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on Monday as he notifies a Senate panel that he won’t hand over documents in the probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

McConnell steps into Obamacare firing line [Politico, 5/21/17]: Whether Senate Republicans can repeal the health law largely depends on the longtime GOP leader.

GOP talks of narrowing 'blue-slip' rule for judges [The Hill, 5/21/17]: GOP senators are talking about changing an obscure Senate tradition to make it more difficult for Democrats to block certain judges from advancing to a confirmation hearing.

IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit

The Accusation [Marshall Project, 5/21/17]: Katie's father went to prison for raping her and her brothers. It was an unthinkable crime that broke her family apart. So why couldn't she remember it?

V. 1st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly) [See TOPICS 29-33 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Federal appeals court: Arizona prison outgoing mail policy violates constitution [Jurist, 5/20/17]: A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday ruled that the Arizona Department of Corrections' (ADC) outgoing mail policy calling for a "page-by-page content review" of inmates' confidential outgoing legal mail violated the First and Sixth Amendments of the US Constitution. 

Jokes, Indecency and the Federal Communications Commission [Jurist, 5/20/17]: Commentary on the implications of late-night television political satire and the effect of FCC regulation on the First Amendment.

VI. 14th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

New Study Finds That Bullying Remains High at School, But Has Declined Over Time [EdLawProfs Blog, 5/19/17]: A new study on bullying at school offers both good and bad news. The bad news is that bullying remains a constant aspect of daily life for many students at school. Anywhere from 13 to 29 percent of students report being bullied in the last month. Half of students indicated that they have witnessed bullying in the last month. The good news is that these numbers are down from prior years. Also, the vast majority of students feel safe at school, notwithstanding the prevalence of bullying.

No comments:

Post a Comment